The new exhibition “Palace Paradise,” exceptional in more than one way, is the first result of the partnership between the Musée du Quai Branly and the Asian Arts Museum.
Who has never dreamed of experiencing earthly pleasures after death?
That is the function of the paper funerary objects in Taiwan, burned to ensure the comfort of the deceased in the afterlife. After a death, families purchase substitutes for real objects made of paper, mounted on a bamboo structure, which they send to the departed by burning them, accompanied by funerary currency—paper bills and coins used in the world of the dead.
From miniature houses to copies of luxury items, these hyper-realistic creations leave out no detail. Nothing is left to chance: washing machine programs, smartphones equipped with special “paradise” apps, and chauffeur-driven sedans.
